Most people breathe from their chest, which fills the upper and middle parts of the lungs with air but is not as effective as deep breathing, or belly breathing, which fills the lungs completely. Also known as diaphragmatic breathing, deep breathing exercises your lungs and brings more oxygen into your body. Special deep breathing exercises can help you learn to inhale deeper and more effectively to help reduce stress, maintain respiratory health and increase your oxygen supply, which in turn will increase your energy levels and mental alertness.
Significance
As you get older, you may lose up to 20 percent of your blood's oxygen capacity, according to the University of Missouri's Center on Aging Studies. The normal aging process, coupled with a lifetime habit of shallow breathing, can leave you with weak muscles around the rib cage and a sluggish respiratory system that interfere with your ability to breathe effectively and refresh your oxygen supply.
Function
Effective breathing increases your lung capacity as it fills your lungs completely with oxygen. Deep breathing puts pressure on your diaphragm, a large sheet of muscle tissue located just under your lungs, below your rib cage. When your diaphragm feels this pressure, it contracts and presses on your abdomen. This creates a suction effect that draws more air into your lungs. The more air you have in your lungs the more oxygen is available for passage into your blood stream, where it travels to all your body cells. At the same time, carbon dioxide from your blood passes into the air that will be expelled from your lungs when pressure on your diaphragm is relieved and you exhale.
Considerations
Newborn babies naturally practice belly breathing, but the technique is typically lost as we grow up and develop a habit of breathing from the chest, according to the Rutgers College Counseling Center. Belly breathing exercises teach you how to breath from your abdomen, and practicing these exercises on a regular basis can help restore the habit so that deeper breathing comes naturally again. These exercises work the muscles and organs involved in respiration, increasing your lung capacity and the supply of oxygen to your blood.
Breathing Exercises
Deep-breathing exercises start with paying attention to your breath. To begin, take a slow breath in through your nose and feel the air move down toward your abdomen. At the same time, allow your abdomen to relax and expand and fill with air. Slowly breathe out through your mouth or nose. Place your hand on your abdomen and chest. When you practice deep breathing, you will feel the hand on your abdomen rise about an inch and the hand on your chest will rise just slightly. Harvard Medical School experts recommend alternating deep breathing with normal breathing so you can feel the difference. Breathing effectively promotes a feeling of relaxation.
Warning
Effective deep breathing exercises require relaxed, focused breathing during which you hold your breath for just a few seconds at most. If you feel dizzy at any point during deep breathing, it is a sign that you are breathing too quickly or holding your breath too long. If this is the case, relax and slow down.
